[Diagnosis] Is any fully at-home sleep study covered by insurance?

[sleepwaker]

Hi, I'm glad to have discovered this forum!

I'm looking for a fully at-home (order and return by mail) sleep study that is covered by insurance. Or if I can't find that, an at-home sleep study that I could repeat multiple times in case I can't sleep, without having to pay for it again every time.


Long story:

I'm pretty sure I have sleep apnea. I also have insomnia caused by other health problems. So I don't sleep very much, and the quality of the sleep is not good either. I'm constantly exhausted, making everything a struggle.

I can't do a hospital sleep study because if I get covid, it would be worse than untreated sleep apnea. My doctor ordered a "home" sleep study, but I still had to spend a long time in a crowded hospital to pick up and return the equipment. And then I wasn't able to sleep during the study! I could try repeating it, but I'm not going back to that hospital again.

I wanted to just rent a CPAP machine to see if it helps. But as far as I know, no one will let me rent (or buy) a machine with or without insurance unless I get a sleep study first to prove that I deserve it.

My doctor suggested cpap.xxx but it doesn't accept insurance. I could afford it once without insurance, but if I don't sleep enough on the first try, I can't afford to keep repeating it.

Is there something like cpap.xxx that insurance might cover, or that would at least let me try more than once?

I hope someone here might know. Thanks!

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[PeaceLoveAndPizza]

You have a few options I can think of at the moment.

1. Try to get another at-home study, but get one for 2-3 nights. Your odds of getting enough data to diagnose sleep apnoea go up with additional nights.
2. Buy a used machine out of pocket. Facebook marketplace and Craigslist frequently have low hour used machines available. They will be far less than the cost of new, and possibly cheaper than you would pay with insurance.
3. AXG sleep diagnostics and others from our Suppliers List do remote at-home studies, but do not accept insurance. Your insurance maybe willing to reimburse you as it will be cheaper than most usual paths, so talk to them first. A last resort, but it is out there.